This invention relates to camouflage cloth material and to camouflage garments for hunting and the like made of such material. The invention is more particularly directed to a tree bark camouflage which combines the principles of mimicry, disruptive patterning, shading, and countershading so that the wearer of the garment blends in against a background of tree bark.
Traditional camouflage material, since World War II, has been formed in patterns of earth-colored splotches on a lighter background, or darker, green-dominated, leafy patterned camouflage. More recently, imitation bark patterns have been introduced, and these latter patterns have retained much of the splotchiness of the traditional camouflage patterns. However, these previously proposed camouflage materials have not been ideal for hunting in softwood or hardwood forests, because their more-or-less traditional camouflage patterns have not mimicked real tree bark sufficiently well, and do not cause the wearer to resemble or blend with the trunks of surrounding trees.
Many of the bark camouflage patterns sold today are almost photographic and are designed to look like a particular type of tree. Consequently, this type of camouflage works only if the hunter is standing among trees of that particular kind. Other types of bark camouflage are characterized by groupings of lighter tones, which can be easily spotted by game. Still others use small or closely connected patterns which can be too tight, and lose definition, becoming discernible masses of color at a distance.